Why Do Airplanes Have Headlights?
While many people have seen airplanes flying in the dark, some may wonder what type of headlights these airplanes use to see well from a great distance. To the surprise of many, aircraft do not actually use headlights as would be seen on a standard automobile. Instead, they use landing lights to establish visuals while taking off and landing in place of headlights. These landing lights are powerful enough to help you see the airplane from almost 100 miles away and are ten times brighter than any regular headlights on a vehicle.
About Landing Lights
Landing lights are not a requirement for every aircraft, but their use is always encouraged. Depending on the area of operation and the various jurisdictions that preside over rulings, different aircraft may be upheld to varying degrees of lighting requirements. A good example of these law variations is the United States where landing lights are only a requirement for commercial aircraft or planes flying 10,000 feet or below. They are not at all needed in military aircraft or private aircraft.
These landing lights are generally needed while conducting landing and take offs or when the aircraft is closer to the landing strip. Other than these instances, the glare of headlights can cause detrimental reflections, making it hard for the pilot to see. Beyond take off and landing operations, landing lights are also used when flying in crowded airspace, flying below certain heights, changing flight levels, enhancing visibility to other aircraft, and communicating with ground personnel and other planes in emergencies. These landing lights are typically used in a flashing mode to attract attention or enhance visibility. However, in commercial aircraft, these lights are used at night.
Specifications of Landing Lights
Landing lights are an essential requirement of almost every aircraft. These lights are either managed by a relay or are directly connected to the electrical circuit of the aircraft.
Landing lights are mounted on the area of taxi lights and are used while the plane is taxiing to and from the runway. These lights are generally sealed beam, high-intensity LED light bulbs. Sometimes, these lights are used when the aircraft is deprived of taxi lights. When aircraft are smaller, they use the landing lights to facilitate their taxiing operations with sufficient brightness. Some create illumination for their taxiing operations by using a dimming resistor in the landing light circuit.
Many people believe that taxi lights and landing lights are the same. In reality, they are both different; taxi lights are required to taxi the aircraft to and from the runway until the aircraft is moving, while landing lights are generally used during take offs and landings. In addition, taxi lights have to cover a wider area, so they have wider beams than landing lights. On the other hand, landing lights have narrow lights to illuminate the runway from a great distance.The above point is the main difference between landing and taxi lights, even though there are many similarities. Both landing and taxi lights use LED lights which are generally the most popular and excellent choice among other lights due to their brightness and color options. Therefore, LED lights are the best-suited option for any aircraft in the aviation industry.
Conclusion
Now that you have been familiarised with aircraft lights and their essentiality for smooth taxiing, landing, and taking off, let Unlimited NSN be at your service. We at Unlimited NSN stock only quality assured products, keeping customer satisfaction a priority. In addition, we are a leading supplier of all aircraft parts, so if you require any aircraft lights or other aircraft parts, feel free to visit our website. If you want to purchase parts today, get started with us by requesting a quote from our website; our team will be more than happy to help you.
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